The Return of Nimueh
by KathyPrior42
Summary: What if Nimueh survived?


Nimueh didn't expect a familiar physician to show up on the Isle of the Blessed several days later. Hatred flared in her eyes as she saw Gaius wearing blue. He was seeking her help…when he didn't even help her and her people in desperate event. Why should she help him?

"I never thought I'd see _you_ here again," said Nimueh as she walked forward.

"My lady," said Gaius.

"It's a long time since you called me that."

"I come to ask for your help," he said in a low soft voice.

"As you did once before for Uther. You did not like the outcome."

"I offer a chance for you to atone for the death of his wife."

Thoughts raced through Nimueh's head._ 'I did nothing wrong! It was all Uther's fault and his allies. Why should I be blamed for that? I wanted Ygraine to survive as much as Uther did.'_

Nimueh paced around the stone circle. "I have saved the life of her son. What more do you ask for?"

"That this time you take a just price," Gaius answered. "Merlin intends to offer his life for his mother's. I want you to take mine in his place."

Nimueh laughed out loud. "With all my powers of prediction, I could never have foretold this. Gaius the hero."

Nimueh continued to speak as Merlin rode closer and closer to the island. "Why could I grant your wish? You stood and watched while our friends burned in the Great Purge. You are nothing but a traitor."

Gaius folded his hands in front of him. "Merlin is the one man who can bring magic back to this land. At Arthur's side, he can help forge a new kingdom. A world of peace and beauty that we can only dream of."

Nimueh was intrigued at the thought of living in a peaceful time, just like she had before Uther's decision. She figured that Merlin and Arthur weren't her enemies after all…or at least they shouldn't be. With them working together, magic would return and they would all be free.

"And you're willing to give your life, Gaius, for the future they will bring?" she asked.

"Stop!" Merlin shouted.

Both of them turned at the sound of Merlin's yell. Gaius stared at Merlin flabbergasted.

"What are you doing here?"

Nimueh also looked surprised. "Back again so soon, warlock?"

"Gaius, you're alive?" asked Merlin.

"Yes, for now," he answered.

Merlin marched toward Nimueh. "I won't let you harm him!"

Gaius held Merlin back. "Listen, Merlin, I came here by choice. I'm sacrificing my life to protect you. Nimueh is not a person to trifle with."

"Why?" asked Merlin, clearly disturbed.

"You wanted to give up your life to save your mother's," Gaius responded.

"Let me help fulfil his wish," Nimueh added.

"No! I won't let you!"

"If you want your mother to survive, a life must be taken in exchange," she explained. "After all, what good is it for a traitor of the Old Religion to live?" She glared at Gaius.

"I only did what I thought was right," said Gaius. "Uther was the one to send me to you to ask about helping Igraine to conceive Arthur. I helped in any way I could."

"Yet you stood and watched as my kind were destroyed and massacred by Uther's men!" she argued. "I have no reason to trust you, only to kill you since that's what you want."

Merlin yelled again. "I bid my life for Arthur's, not my mother's, not Gaius's!"

Gaius turned to Merlin. "You do realize that your mother's illness gets worse every minute. If we don't act now, then it will certainly be too late."

"Oh, believe me," replied Merlin. "I will act very soon: I'm going to kill this vengeful witch once and for all!"

Nimueh scoffed. "You seriously want to try and kill a High Priestess? You must have a death wish as much as Gaius."

Merlin growled and conjured a beam of light that Nimueh easily blocked with her hand. Nimueh conjured a fireball in her hand and it sailed toward Merlin. Merlin was barely able to dodge it before the ball exploded against a stone wall. Stone slabs and pieces landed on the grass.

Nimueh was about to fire another ball of fire at Merlin, but Gaius knocked her down, using magic of his own. Nimueh stood up.

"You traitorous fools! Going against the Old Religion! You're only wasting your time, dealing with me."

Merlin fired back, "It is not the Old Religion that has done this. It is you."

"Come now, Merlin," said Nimueh, trying to get him to her side. "We're too valuable to each other to be enemies."

"No, I share nothing with you!"

"With my help, Arthur will become king."

"I will make Arthur king. But you will never see that day."

"You misunderstand your great power and potential, Merlin. You too are a creature of the Old Religion. Join me, and together we could rule the world."

"You think I would join forces with such selfish and cruel magic? Never."

"So be it."

"You should not have killed my mother, nor tried to kill Gaius!" Merlin roared. Truthfully, Merlin didn't know whether Hunith was still alive or not, but due to the situation, he dared to think the worst.

Instead of using fire, Nimueh conjured up a whip of ice cold water and splashed it in Merlin's face. Merlin ducked to the ground, avoiding protecting icicles from Nimueh's hands. She reached toward the pedestal and grabbed the Cup of Life. Merlin fired more blasts at Nimueh, which she easily dodged and blocked. Nimueh fired another blast that knocked Gaius backwards, slamming him against the pedestal.

"No!" cried Merlin.

She strode toward Gaius, rising the cup in the air. She began to chant. At the same time, Merlin held out his hand as lightning flashed in the sky. Nimueh briefly conjured a shield to protect her from the lightning strikes. But Merlin knew that she couldn't do multiple spells at once. She lowered her hand and held the cup, focusing on the spell of death. Just before she finished…

Wham!

Merlin's conjured lightning bolt struck the cup from above, knocking Nimueh down to the ground with a yelp. Her body twitched as some of the lightning flowed through her. Her red dress was tattered and burned form the strikes. Seizing his chance, Merlin walked over to her and held his hand forward. He suddenly found himself being held back by Gaius.

"What're you doing?" he yelled, struggling to break free.

Gaius spoke a spell out loud, causing Merlin to briefly fall asleep.

He made his way to the cup on the ground and picked it up. Some of the water had spilled out of it, but there was a small bit left. He walked toward Nimueh, and carefully lowered the cup to her lips. The remaining water poured between her lips and she swallowed with effort.

Several minutes later, she took a breath and opened her eyes, wondering where she was. Then she looked at the one who saved her and glared. "Why did you…"

"Because I know that you can still make amends," said Gaius. "I don't expect you to side with me or Uther. You'll fare much better in Camelot."

"I'm not welcomed back at that place," she replied. "I'll never set foot there again."

"You can be disguised and no one would recognize you."

"Yeah, sure," she muttered. "I'll be killed on sight. I'd would be better to see Camelot fall and Uther to die with it."

"I'm giving you one last chance," said Gaius.

Nimueh held out her shaking hand, to find only sparks coming out of it. Her magic had been screwed up due to the lightning strike.

"You better hurry and make your decision before Merlin wakes up. Agree to follow our terms and you might be able to live the life you once did."

"What do you want, exactly?" she asked, wincing in pain at the impact of the strike. "Why save my life?"

"Because you might be able to save Hunith's life."

"You realize that even if I were to save her, someone else close to Merlin would die?"

Gaius stared at her. "What do you mean by that? Are you saying you won't save her?"

Nimueh looked downcast. "She's already gone."

Merlin stood up and shook himself awake. He walked slowly over to the two individuals.

"Gaius?" he asked. "Why did you save her?"

"I wanted to give her a second chance."

"She doesn't deserve one! She tried to kill me and Arthur. Who knows how many more people will die because of her."

"Like Hunith?" she asked. She briefly gained some pleasure at seeing Merlin's heart-broken face. Then she saw Merlin's teary eyes narrow in anger.

"You killed her?"

"I sensed her energy fade."

Merlin shook his head in denial. "You're lying! You're just trying to make me feel horrible."

Gaius put his hand on Merlin's shoulders. "We don't know that."

Merlin pulled himself away from his mentor. "Use the Cup of Life to heal my mother, or I'll kill you!"

Nimueh crossed her arms. "Haven't you forgotten that your lightning magic has messed up my powers?"

"You still have knowledge over life and death," Merlin mentioned. "Do it, now!"

Nimueh slowly stood up, adjusting to her legs. "Very well." She knew that it was far too late, but if this would get them to leave her be, then that is what she would do.

She took the cup, filled it with water and held it up in the air.

"_I, the High Priestess, hereby use the power of the Old Religion, to save her from her illness."_

A rumble of thunder vibrated in the dark clouds above. Nimueh lowered the cup and looked downcast.

"What happened?" asked Merlin.

"I don't know," said Nimueh. Her convincing voice was enough to make Merlin believe her. Nimueh focused on her hand, but still she couldn't create anything.

"You need healing," said Gaius. "I need to take you back to Camelot."

"Just let me die here instead," the sorceress seethed.

"I know this is hard you for, Merlin," said Gaius. "But she could be a great ally to us in the future."

Merlin glared and shook his head. "She's a trickster and evil! She could be up to no good on the journey there. Just because you knew her in the past, doesn't mean she can be trusted!"

Nimueh gave Merlin a deadly stare, hiding the fact that Merlin's comment actually stung a bit. Deep down, she wanted Gaius to trust her again. But then again, he did nothing to save her people and no amount of magic could heal the traumatic damage that the Great Purge had caused. Maybe, she could use this new situation to her advantage. Time to play the damsel in distress again.

Nimueh started to cry. "I'm sorry…for what I did. You can take me back to Camelot and do what you will."

"Good choice," said Gaius. "There's a rowboat down the way."

As Gaius led the way and guided Nimueh, Merlin spoke to him in a low voice.

"You know she's trying to trick us, right?"

Gaius nodded. "Both of us will keep an eye on her."

The three individuals made it back to Camelot. They had managed to disguise Nimueh in a handmaiden's dress, this time in light blue. Much to her distaste, her hair was cut short.

To Merlin's horror, he saw his mother in bed, her skin pale and cold. He leaned close to his mother's body and sobbed. Gaius came over and wrapped his arm comfortably around Merlin.

"For once, Nimueh was right. She's gone."

"I'm sorry, Merlin."

"No. Nimueh's the one who should be sorry. She knew that my mother would die!"

"Yet, she still tried to help."

"No! She only did that to mock us."

"Did you see the sad look on her face after her spell?"

"She was only pretending to be sad."

"I'm not so sure."

Merlin stomped toward Nimueh, who was lying down on a bed nearby.

"Merlin, I'm not done with my patient, yet."

"There's something I have to do," he said coldly. "She took away the person I loved the most. Now it's time for her to know what loss is like."

Gaius got chills from this new side of Merlin. "You're not seriously going to kill her now?"

Merlin shook his head. "Now that I think about it, death isn't good enough for her. So I've decided to try this instead."

Merlin held his hand over her and chanted another spell.

"_Release the magic energy from this maiden's soul. Her power shall not be returned, until she is ready to use it."_

Nimueh felt her very energy ripped away from her. The humming in her veins, that had been second nature to her, suddenly stopped. The spell must have been powerful, because, moments later, Merlin collapsed in a heap on the floor.

Gaius carried him to the bedroom. "He'll be up the next day."

"What have you done?!" she shrieked.

'Keep your voice down," said Gaius. "If you're found out, Uther will have you burned at the stake."

"I'll just escape," she replied.

"How?" asked Gaius. "Without magic?"

Nimueh held out her hand at Gaius, and uttered a spell. Nothing happened. Empty air stood in place of where a fireball should've been in her hand.

"I'll kill you…I'll kill both of you! I cannot live without my magic."

"There are plenty of people who do," said Gaius.

"Give it back!" she cried.

"Only Merlin can."

"Then I'll torture him until he does!"

"With what, exactly?"

Once again, Nimueh realized her helplessness in the situation.

"You know I could just march down and confront Uther, right?" she said.

Gaius shook his head. "Both of us know that he wouldn't listen. You would be thrown in jail and burned the next day."

"There are hardly any of us left," said Nimueh. "With Uther and my enemies alive, me powerless, and all my family gone, what else do I have to live for?"

Gaius drew in a breath at his former friend's distress. He gave her a hug, before Nimueh could react. She stayed still, crying briefly. Then she pushed him away. "Go away, old traitor!"

Gaius sighed. "I'll fetch you some food, water, and new clothes. Stay here and don't cause any trouble."

"Why are you doing this?! Why be so nice now?"

"Sometimes, that's all one can do," he replied. "Just be aware, Merlin still has his magic, so if you plan to attack him, then you'll have a hard time doing so."

Gaius opened the wooden door, went out and closed it.

Merlin was awake the next day, he and Nimueh didn't speak for the entire day. Nimueh tried to devise a way to escape. She didn't know why she was willing to follow Gaius in the first place. She knew she had needed to heal from the damage of the lightning; she didn't expect them to trick her and steal her magic! She was surprised that Merlin hadn't tried to kill her already. Maybe Gaius's words could hold him back…barely.

Nimueh searched book after book, trying to find a spell to restore her magic. Then she realized that she couldn't do magic and screamed in frustration. The next best thing she could do, already feeling like a prisoner, was to pray to the Triple Goddess.


End file.
